Overview A vulnerability has been discovered in certain HP PC BIOS, which could allow for local arbitrary code execution. The BIOS is a firmware which is used to provide runtime services for operating systems and programs and to perform hardware initialization during the booting process. Successful exploitation of this vulnerability could allow for local arbitrary code execution with kernel level privileges. An attacker could then install programs; view, change, or delete data; or create new accounts with full user rights.

 

Threat Intelligence A proof-of-concept writeup was posted to GitHub on May 10, 2022. However, there are no reports of active exploitation of the vulnerability.

 

System Affected This vulnerability is found in the BIOS of numerous HP systems. For a full list of affected systems and BIOS versions, please click here:

 

Risk Government: – Large and medium government entities: High – Small government entities: High

 

Businesses: – Large and medium business entities: High – Small business entities: High

 

Home Users: Low

 

Technical Summary This vulnerability is exploited by taking advantage of System Management Interrupt Handler (SMI Handler)’s functionality to execute code from overwritten memory. The CVEs associated with this vulnerability are: CVE-2021-3808 and CVE-2021-3809.

 

Recommendations We recommend the following actions be taken:

 

Upgrade to the latest version of the BIOS for systems affected. Run all software as a non-privileged user (one without administrative privileges) to diminish the effects of a successful attack.

 

The initial public draft of NIST Special Publication (SP)
800-140Br1 (Revision 1), CMVP Security Policy Requirements: CMVP Validation Authority
Updates to ISO/IEC 24759 and ISO/IEC 19790 Annex B, is now
available for public comment. This draft introduces four significant changes to
NIST SP 800-140B:

1. Defines a more detailed
   structure and organization for the Security Policy
2. Captures Security Policy
   requirements that are defined outside of ISO/IEC 19790 and ISO/IEC 24759
3. Builds the Security Policy
   document as a combination of the subsection information
4. Generates the approved
   algorithm table based on lab/vendor selections from the algorithm tests

The NIST SP 800-140x series supports Federal Information
Processing Standards (FIPS) Publication 140-3, Security Requirements for Cryptographic Modules,
and its associated validation testing program, the Cryptographic Module
Validation Program (CMVP). The series specifies modifications to ISO/IEC 19790
Annexes and ISO/IEC 24759 as permitted by the validation authority.

The public comment period for this initial public draft is open
through July 12, 2022. See the publication
details for instructions on submitting comments.

Read
More

 

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has published Digital Investigation Techniques: A NIST Scientific Foundation Review. This draft report, which will be open for public comment for 60 days, reviews the methods that digital forensic experts use to analyze evidence from computers, mobile phones and other electronic devices.

The purpose of NIST scientific foundation reviews is to document and evaluate the scientific basis for forensic methods. These reviews fill a need identified in a landmark 2009 studyby the National Academy of Sciences, which found that many forensic disciplines lack a solid foundation in scientific research.

To conduct their review, the authors examined peer-reviewed literature, documentation from software developers, test results on forensic tools, standards and best practices documents and other sources of information. They found that “digital evidence examination rests on a firm foundation based in computer science,” and that “the ap plication of these computer science techniques to digital investigations is sound.”

“Copying data, searching for text strings, finding timestamps on files, reading call logs on a phone. These are basic elements of a digital investigation,” said Barbara Guttman, leader of NIST’s digital forensics research program and an author of the study. “And they all rely on fundamental computer operations that are widely used and well understood.”

The report also discusses several challenges that digital forensic experts face, including the rapid pace of technological change. “Digital evidence techniques don’t work perfectly in all cases,” Guttman said. “If everyone starts using a new app, forensic tools won’t be able to read and understand the contents of that app until they are updated. This requires constant effort.”

To address this challenge, the report recommends better methods for information-sharing among experts and a more structured approach to testing forensic tools that would increase efficiency and reduce duplication of effort across labs.

The report also recommends increased sharing of high-quality forensic reference data that can be used for education, training, and developing and testing new forensic tools.

NIST’s Digital Forensics Research Program, which was launched in 1999, develops methods for testing digital forensics tools and provides access to high-quality reference datasets. NIST also maintains a vast archive of published software, the National Software Reference Library, that is a critical resource for investigating computer crimes.

NIST scientific foundation reviews help laboratories identify appropriate limitations on the use of forensic methods, identify priorities for future research, and suggest steps for moving the field forward. These reviews are conducted as part of NIST’s Forensic Science Program, which works to strengthen forensic practice through research and improved standards. In 2018 Congress directed NIST to conduct these scientific reviews and appropriated funding for them.

Readers can submit comments on the draft report through July 11, 2022. NIST will host a webinar about the draft report on June 1, 2022. Instructions for submitting comments and registration information for the webinar are available on the NIST website.

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The cybersecurity authorities of the United Kingdom (NCSC�UK), Australia (ACSC), Canada (CCCS), New Zealand
(NCSC-NZ), and the United States (CISA), (NSA), (FBI) are
aware of recent reports that observe an increase in
malicious cyber activity targeting managed service providers
(MSPs) and expect this trend to continue.[1] This joint
Cybersecurity Advisory (CSA) provides actions MSPs and
their customers can take to reduce their risk of falling victim
to a cyber intrusion.
This advisory describes cybersecurity best practices for
information and communications technology (ICT) services
and functions, focusing on guidance that enables
transparent discussions between MSPs and their customers
on securing sensitive data. 

Organizations should implement
these guidelines as appropriate to their unique
environments, in accordance with their specific security
needs, and in compliance with applicable regulations. MSP
customers should verify that the contractual arrangements with their provider include cybersecurity
measures in line with their particular security requirements. 

The guidance provided in this advisory is specifically tailored for both MSPs and their customers and
is the result of a collaborative effort from the United Kingdom National Cyber Security Centre (NCSUK), the Australian Cyber Security Centre (ACSC), the Canadian Centre for Cyber Security (CCCS),
the New Zealand National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC-NZ), the United States’ Cybersecurity and
Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), National Security Agency (NSA), and Federal Bureau of
Investigation (FBI) with contributions from industry members of the Joint Cyber Defense Collaborative (JCDC). Organizations should read this advisory in conjunction with NCSC-UK guidance on actions to
take when the cyber threat is heightened, CCCS guidance on Cyber Security Considerations for
Consumers of Managed Services, and CISA guidance provided on the Shields Up and Shields Up
Technical Guidance webpages.

To read the full details go HERE

 Mozilla has released security updates to address vulnerabilities in Firefox
and Firefox ESR. An attacker could exploit some of these vulnerabilities to
take control of an affected system. 

CISA encourages users and administrators to review the Mozilla Security
Advisory for Firefox
100 and Firefox ESR 91.9
and apply the necessary updates. 

The NIST National Cybersecurity Center of Excellence (NCCoE) has
published NIST Internal Report (NISTIR) 8419, Blockchain and Related Technologies to Support
Manufacturing Supply Chain Traceability: Needs and Industry Perspectives. 

Abstract

Supply chains are increasingly complex, making the origins of
products difficult to discern. Efforts are emerging to increase traceability of
goods by exchanging traceability data records using blockchain and related
technologies among relevant supply chain participants.

NISTIR 8419 explores the issues that surround traceability,
the role that blockchain and related technologies may be able to play to
improve traceability, and several industry case studies of efforts in use
today. 

Scope

The publication covers:

• existing factors that inhibit
  manufacturing supply chain traceability
• analysis of emerging
  blockchain-enabled manufacturing supply chain traceability initiatives in
  progress
• recommendations for future
  research topics to improve manufacturing supply chain traceability,
  enabled by blockchain and related technologies

If you have questions, or would like to join the NCCoE Blockchain
Project Community of Interest, email: blockchain_nccoe@nist.gov. 

View
the Document

 

 CISA, the National Security Agency (NSA), the Federal Bureau of
Investigation (FBI), the Australian Cyber Security Centre (ACSC), the Canadian
Centre for Cyber Security (CCCS), the New Zealand National Cyber Security
Centre (NZ NCSC), and the United Kingdom’s National Cyber Security Centre
(NCSC-UK)  have released a joint Cybersecurity
Advisory that provides details on the top 15 Common Vulnerabilities
and Exposures (CVEs) routinely exploited by malicious cyber actors in 2021, as
well as other CVEs frequently exploited.

CISA encourages users and administrators to review joint Cybersecurity
Advisory: 2021 Top Routinely Exploited Vulnerabilities  and apply the
recommended mitigations to reduce the risk of compromise by malicious cyber
actors. 

 Microsoft has discovered several vulnerabilities, collectively referred to as Nimbuspwn, that could allow an attacker to elevate privileges to root on many Linux desktop endpoints. The vulnerabilities can be chained together to gain root privileges on Linux systems, allowing attackers to deploy payloads, like a root backdoor, and perform other malicious actions via arbitrary root code execution. Moreover, the Nimbuspwn vulnerabilities could potentially be leveraged as a vector for root access by more sophisticated threats, such as malware or ransomware, to achieve greater impact on vulnerable devices.

We discovered the vulnerabilities by listening to messages on the System Bus while performing code reviews and dynamic analysis on services that run as root, noticing an odd pattern in a systemd unit called networkd-dispatcher. Reviewing the code flow for networkd-dispatcher revealed multiple security concerns, including directory traversal, symlink race, and time-of-check-time-of-use race condition issues, which could be leveraged to elevate privileges and deploy malware or carry out other malicious activities. We shared these vulnerabilities with the relevant maintainers through Coordinated Vulnerability Disclosure (CVD) via Microsoft Security Vulnerability Research (MSVR). Fixes for these vulnerabilities, now identified as CVE-2022-29799 and CVE-2022-29800, have been successfully deployed by the maintainer of the networkd-dispatcher, Clayton Craft. We wish to thank Clayton for his professionalism and collaboration in resolving those issues. Users of networkd-dispatcher are encouraged to update their instances.

To read the full details go here